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Jimmy Spithill rebounded from an 8th place in Race 1 to win Race 2 of the AC World Series San Francisco fleet racing championship. The ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL crew rounded the first reach mark neck-and-neck with Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) and then into the lead on the ensuing run. Spithill and tactician John Kostecki opened a huge lead on the first upwind leg and were never threatened, winning by 37 seconds over Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson).

Ben Ainslie may have been thrown into his first AC World Series regatta in August with scant little preparation, but given a month to improve he’s taken every opportunity.

Racing in winds around 15 knots, Ainslie’s J.P. Morgan BAR crew dominated the first fleet race of AC World Series San Francisco, grabbing the lead on the first upwind leg and extending away to a 17-second win at the finish over Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker). ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts) placed third and Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) fourth.

The America’s Cup YouTube channel is live and airing the two match racing quarterfinal races that featured wins for Artemis Racing – White and Emirates Team New Zealand.

After the match races the first fleet race of the series will be shown live, scheduled to start at 1715. This is five minutes later than originally scheduled.

UPDATE 3: 1305 hours

Artemis Racing White beat Team Korea

Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing White made a bold move in the pre-start, with an aggressive duck underneath Team Korea’s Peter Burling. From there, Hutchinson was able to hold Burling up and slow him down prior to the start, before speeding away with an early lead.

The experienced Artemis crew, winners of the 2011-12 Match Racing Championship, sailed a strong race from that point onward, never allowing the Korea crew an opportunity for a pass and went on to claim a convincing win, to advance to the Semifinals.

Emirates Team New Zealand beat Energy Team

A big win at the finish line for Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand belied how close this match was in the early stages. The lead changed hands three times on the first lap of the course, before the Kiwis built on a small advantage through some smart covering moves. After an early scare when Loick Peyron’s mean stole the lead for a short time, Barker asserted his dominance on the match and extended away for a big win.

Live coverage resumes on Thursday with our outside broadcast beginning at 4:30pm PDT. Our YouTube show will open with tape-delayed coverage of the match racing, before switching to live coverage of the first two races of the Fleet Racing Championship.

UPDATE 2: 1240 hours

Artemis Racing White beat Team Korea

Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing White made a bold move in the pre-start, with an aggressive duck underneath Team Korea’s Peter Burling. From there, Hutchinson was able to hold Burling up and slow him down prior to the start, before speeding away with an early lead.

The experienced Artemis crew, winners of the 2011-12 Match Racing Championship, sailed a strong race from that point onward, never allowing the Korea crew an opportunity for a pass and went on to claim a convincing win, to advance to the Semifinals.

Live now – Energy Team vs. Emirates Team New Zealand

The Quarterfinals are one race matches. The winner advances to the Semifinals, while the losing team is eliminated.

The Quarterfinals are available live on VirtualEye.

The racing is being recorded and will be shown ‘as live’ beginning at 4:30pm as part of our daily two hour broadcast, which will open with the match racing and continue with live coverage of the first two fleet races (5:10pm and 5:50pm start times).

UPDATE 1: 1215 hours

Thursday’s racing is underway with the first two Quarterfinal Matches:

The Quarterfinals are one race matches. The winner advances to the Semifinals, while the losing team is eliminated. The Quarterfinals are available live on VirtualEye. The racing is being recorded and will be shown ‘as live’ beginning at 4:30pm as part of our daily two hour show, which will open with the match racing and continue with live coverage of the first two fleet races (5:10pm and 5:50pm start times).

ORIGINAL POST: 0900 hours

Championship Racing starts in earnest at the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco on Thursday.

It’s a split day of racing, but our video broadcast on YouTube will be confined to one complete show.

Racing starts at 12:20 with the Match Racing Quarterfinals.

At 1:00pm, we clear the race course area for Fleet Week activities, before returning at 5:00pm for the first two Fleet Races.

Our live broadcast will begin at 4:30pm and include coverage of the Match Racing on tape, before switching to live coverage of the Fleet Races.

Championship Racing starts in earnest at the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco on Thursday.

It’s a split day of racing, but our video broadcast on YouTube will be confined to one complete show.

Racing starts at 12:20 with the Match Racing Quarterfinals.

At 1:00pm, we clear the race course area for Fleet Week activities, before returning at 5:00pm for the first two Fleet Races.

Our live broadcast will begin at 4:30pm and include coverage of the Match Racing on tape, before switching to live coverage of the Fleet Races.